Twinning

It’s no secret that I like LOVE to get all cheesy and match my kids with our clothing (and sometimes even with my hair), so when I discovered the company StellaCove, I basically went bananas with the matchy match swimsuits because: 

a) there is only a very small window of time that I’ll be able to keep this up before it starts getting weird.

b) Scarlet just gets so excited when we look alike - Will is indifferent but that’s cool cause I can match him and he'll never care or know about it until he's in his teens (HELLO BLACKMAIL) and finally, 

c) COME ON! We only live once and I die every time I get to look a little bit more like my offspring.  I think that it might even be a little unhealthy. haha.

However, I will say that the company has one of the nicest owners I have ever dealt with and their prices are very reasonable.  I was upset that we didn’t get to wear all of the matching suits that we had on this past vacation but that just means we’ll have to go again really soon before the kids and I don’t fit into them anymore.  (Cue tears about both of these facts and no I’m not pregnant)

Anywho, hope you enjoy these very fun matchy match pics.  Walking around the resort everyday we had and met new people everyday because they would just come up to us and ask where we found the cute suits.  People love this stuff I’m telling you!

Hope everyone had a lovely Hump Day!  Is it the middle of the week already?  YIKES!

Luvs,

Kate XO

We're back from Mexico!

We're back!!!

Which means I’m going to be a good little bloggity-blogger and write everyday for the rest of the month of March!  That’s my promise!  Which is hopefully going to be super easy to keep cause March is all of three days left so definitely doable!

Anyway, when it comes to thinking about our trip, I have to be honest with myself and tell you that one of the first things that comes to my mind is the food.  Yup - Mexican food has to be my third boyfriend in life (William - my son - is first and the beach is second).  But my third boyfriend has my heart so much so that I took over 45 pictures of Food on this trip.  (Annnnnnnd cue tears of laughter with a side of guacamole).

So go check out the ‘EATS’ section and what I ate for an entire day while on vacation and have yourself a good laugh.  I know I sure did when I uploaded all the pics.  I was thinking; 'Really?  Was that all in one day?  Sheesh, I really do love me some Mexican!!!'  Hope you enjoy all the pico-de-gallo and salsa my amigos - Lord knows I took enough pics of them.

Luvs,

Kate

XOXO  

It was all about the pool...

Lot's of swimming in the Travel section today!  

Hope you enjoy

Kate 

XO

More fun pics in the Travel section today.

Little Miss Sunshine to brighten your Tuesday.

Kate

XO

The travel bug.  A contagious and relentless critter that typically continues to nag me well after I’ve returned home from a trip.  It won’t go away.  It won’t leave regardless of how often I seem to feed it.  I get home and immediately it’s pestering me ‘Where to next?’ ‘What’s it gonna be?’ ‘When do we leave?!?!’ 

But thankfully, I was able to somewhat suppress the bug’s relentless harassment due to the sheer pleasure and joy that we experienced on this latest vacation with my family.  I feel like both the bug and I are still reminiscing on specific days, moments, memories shared with my awesome brother Ted, his amazing wife and son and my little crew.

We swam, we fished (haha), we shopped (well, Laura and I did), we sang, we danced, we ate popsicles and made steak for super.  We laughed, we got sunburned, we explored, we got dirty.  We hugged, we shared, we ate watermelon on grass in the heat and then didn’t clean up after.  We packed all seven, yes SEVEN bodies into a hot minivan, we went to a farmer’s market, we had In-N-Out burgers with animal sauce and fries.  We learned how to just enjoy the day away.  I can say that it was totally unproductive almost everyday and that it was just perfect.  

Getting home from the vacation was bittersweet.  It’s always nice climbing into your own bed, laying down on your own pillow, reuniting with your secret candy stash, but it was particularly hard leaving this trip because I didn’t want our special time to end with the Hoydas.  But I can say, they both suffer from the same stigma that I have as we were already planning our next Hoyda Weiland special kid vacation getaway.  It’s happening.

Here are a few pics of the trip.  If you’re interested I will post pics everyday this week on the 'Travel' page.  

This is about as wild and crazy as I was willing to get with baby Will

BEST. PHOTO BOMB. EVER!!!  Like.  Wow.

Trying to get a family pic.  TRYING...

Photo cred: Laura Hoyda XOXO

Now that we’re back, I’m feeling the pressure.  I’m giving my 90 year old Grandfather a birthday tribute in front of a bunch of family and friends.  I’ve never had issues with speaking publicly (probably from all of my time in front of massive groups of teenagers) but for some reason, I’m palm sweaty flat out nervous for this speech.  I guess maybe it’s because I revere my Grandfather so much and he is literally the most epic person you will come across so I’m wanting to do him justice on his day in front of his friends and family.  Sigh.  

On top of THAT, the kids are both sick.  It was catching something on the plane ride home no doubt.  Cue rolling my eyes.  I’m just not thrilled about extra needy, snotty, whiny babes needing my attention every second of the day.  All you mommas out there know exactly what I'm talking about.  BUT, I will say the extra cuddles, snuggles and hugs helps make up for the latter.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Tis the season to Romp!

Tis the season to ROMP!

Romper that is.  It’s a gorgeous 20 degrees here in Cowtown and I’m feeling almost Stampede ready in my cowgirl boots as Scarly calls them.  The romper is really needed these days since the heat has been blasting us but I’m definitely not complaining about it.

Speaking of heat, my sister Laura, her hubby (my bro) Ted, Nate and I, plus all the kiddies had been planning to hit the hot hot desert in palm springs.   But, after taking a look at the temperature which bragged a 46 DEGREES CELSIUS for most of the month, the four of us very responsible adults agreed that we weren’t comfortable taking our babes into that heat.  So, we unfortunately cancelled the trip.  But we rebooked for a getaway at a similar family style Resort in San Diego.  I can’t tell you how pumped I am about it!  

If you’re interested in the above outfit details you can find them in ‘Style’.  I'll be packing it along with a bunch of lightweight rompers for our vacay.  Super easy to just throw on with a hat since it's both a top and shorts.  I LOVE SUMMER!!!

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Kate 

XO

OUR FIRST FAMLY TRIP!

Feeling like the luckiest lady with these three

Oh my gosh guys, we did it!  Our first little vacation as a family of four and it was a blast.  I can’t tell you how awesome it turned out to be - way better than we anticipated, yes I thought of many awful scenarios that thankfully didn't happen.  There were a few little struggles and challenges along the way (like when I accidentally ate some food that had touched shellfish... that was fun,) but Nate and I agreed that it was all WELL worth it.  Just the amount of memories and pictures that we are starting to collect of our kids and the quality time we spend together is something that I have really begun to cherish and value more and more.  For me, this is what life is all about.  Our little 'unit' will be doing A LOT more of this.

 But before I post too much about the trip, I just want to say thanks for all the love and support on the blog.  I came home to some amazing comments and tons of love from you guys and also a very shocking 100,000+ hits!  That’s wild and exciting for me considering I’m still not even totally sure how to set up a proper subscription section for followers (haha).  But I’m still learning.  I just wanted to say thanks so much and thanks for visiting the blog.

 So, I’ll be posting most if not all of the pics of Mexico both in the travel section and on the main page everyday this week.  I’ve been totally ignoring the 'Travel' page so it will be nice to finally put some content in there!  Here’s to MORE travel.  

The glorious views from our room.

Hope you have a lovely week friends!

Kate XO

Holiday fun in BC

Breastfeeding pit-stop

Traveling with a baby is intimidating for any new parent.  Luckily, Nate and I had the courage to take Scar up to the cabin a few times this summer so we were feeling confident enough to go a little further and do a few nights away in beautiful British Columbia.  I was super nervous about the 4.5 hour drive but we agreed that we would take as many breaks as we needed to - even if it would take us all day to get there.  The ride up turned out to be relatively easy and the ride home was even better because she slept the whole ride back.  It was wonderful.  This was a really great introduction to travel with a third member of the clan and we're looking forward to doing more this coming November!

A few shots of the view from our room

It got a tad cold out there so I was happy I brought a few warm items for our little lovebug. 

Our drive home - Rundle Mountain 

Of course, sunny Canmore/Calgary.  Even though we were somewhat rained out for most of the trip we still enjoyed it and are looking forward to Hawaii next!